Fuel control valve



March 10, 1936. g H, HAMlLfoN 2,033,336

FUEL CONTROL VALVE Filed March 23, 1952 TX? 51/60 Z6 7 INVE, NTOR ATTo Rvuz zs Patented Mar. 10, 1936 UNITED. STATES PATENT OFF-16E FUEL CONTROL VALVE Application March 23,1932, Serial m sopsssa 4 Claims.

This minventionlrelates to fuelcontrol devices and-particularly to devices for controlling the supplylofa fuel to a gas burner, and a principal obiectaof-my invention is to provide a new and I improved devicerof; this type.

tneidrawing. accompany g s pe fi tion and forming a part-of thisapplication, I have shown,- forthe purpose-of illustration, one

formswhichzmyo invention may assume, and in Figure 1 is a perspective View, with sts broken away, of a heater embodying my inven- Figure 4s an elevationa viewalv mechanismonc ntm pe the. up y of e t ehrneriof the ea en Figure 3;is ,a horizontal seetional view-talren Figure 1 thereqf my invention is shown as being n m o e. e e er heat r: o i i a hthiea r es ne I up orted ss 2 d.

divided y me'e s t -p rtitieh tp i ppe i waier h r a s wer e h i s ie h meett A e stehtie v u u es en l pese p e efluet. eemmunieetes. i h h v. riti h-i h hiher 5 and; ietehsis; r e ly; h tel eh e te hemhee ee rmitti e the pr dhete; iI hihi et itv ener d; he ih i ieh ha be te eepe-t h e er it h h fe.-

v, t p 'te ielly, ehheler b rn ,1 is r ided" h em t t en hamber 5 e iis. p liedit PlQL. s' i. hreesh ti y tending pipe 5 which communicates at itsupper nti' wi h ti s ehti ll e enhe t e afvalve device; [0. Apipe ll establishes cemmunieation; between the upper end of the connection B and. the lower; end of a valve l2 wl iicl is;c, o r 1i rollJedv by a thermally responsive.

deviee: liegtending into the water chamber 4. T. a -1 norm ll mai ne n. n e -.7

P9i Q h9doi$ y e e h h mpe s-H ture of g;the water in the chamber; 4 reaches a,, etietehhihedrme im m- A pip 1 ead n t ei seu e pi; fu l u ly qmmuh ee es. w h e lfl fthrpugh the valve l2, and the passage ii eljthre sh he i e 14 is l e c r lled.-

. hehue r pe ated va ve Th alre evieekpr te ihly: co p se astin fi-liorxh dint era y. w t the -r-con e-.

it; en s amesra, gierab e ho sine- I p videdwith a flangel8 adapted to be secured to the casting l6; by means of screws 19 with. an int rpos d p c i he et e l i i lg.v the ,valve mechanism hereinafter to be described. The, T-connectiorr 9 is provided with Y a transversely extending partition 2|; which dividesthe interior thereof into an upper or inletchamher which atesit h nter r hi. the housing i'lthrough a passage 23, and a, lower or ut et he hbe i h e m h eete h the, interior of the housing, ll through a valve chamber zi and an opening 25.; The passage .fuel r u h i h en n is Y ee t eilei b means of a valve member 2l-,;-Which istprovided w t e eie i n t ee euidins ussit e sliding engagement With the walls,oi the valve chamber 25. The valve, member 21 isnqrmally, urged toward a closed position by means; of a leaf spring 29;, one end-of which isbi furcated as at 9 for se eh eht ththe elvem h b 2'! on opposite sides of a, valvestem 3l cagried thereby. The other end of the leaf springlii is secured between the head 32 01 a nipple 33, which isthreadedinto the casting l6, and alo ck nut 34, which is threaded onto the nipple for abutting engagementv with the casting It. The

en o r eei; es; 2? :mer e re t r meehs of n iest h rewit hie en s through a slot- 36 provided in the leaf spring 29 which is threadedinto the casting 16.

he urner 1 h s essee ete there th a i ot burner, indicated in ite entirety at BI, and comprising a tubular section 38y-which is threaded into a bore 39 provided in a boss fl formed intei l h ee t ng Is, Fu l se ip lied to the burner 31 throughia vertically extending bypass pipe 4 L communicating at its upper end with the'pipe I4 in advance of the valve I5, and W? f d h-Messa e M Q S vided in; the boss 40- and which communicates w t he-her 3-. A ipp e.;. -ii. e rintp the inner end of I the section 38 and is provided withan axial L bore 44, Thisnipple has ascrew threaded engagement with and projects into one h r efeh ih i 45 i h is evi eewi he iiirei ri ef i n e evening's it t; l-poi ttu' tt r. t e s f the d e h pple ec or ds." o ti g; h t the p zfizziQJZ. h zsture. a, he

gas in the usual manner.

Also threaded into the boss land extending parallel to the pilot burner 31 in relatively lose p ox mit jthe t a se be 4 pper, o-rpther metal having a high coefficientwofgexpansion whe sppieetedtahe T e inner end of the uhei l stprovided.;,-withzaterm hel member 48 which is threaded thereon and which has a plurality of circumferential fins 49 in order to provide a relatively large surface area in comparison to its over all dimensions. The tip 48 is formed of a metal having a relatively high coefiicient of thermal conductivity and is located adjacent to the end of the burner 31 and at a point directly above the pilot flame.

A rod 50, constructed of a metal having a relatively low coeflicient of expansion when subjected to heat, such as invar, is secured at its inner end to the tube 41 and extends entirely through the tube 41, the boss 40, the nipple 33, and projects into the housing l1. The outer end of the rod 5|] extends through an opening 5| provided in one end of a lever 52 of channelconstruction, and carries a collar 53 which is maintained against displacement by means of a plurality of lock nuts 54 which are threaded onto the outer extremity of the rod 50. The collar 53 is provided with diametrically extending knife bearing surfaces 55 for engagement with notches 56 provided in one side of the lever 52. The lever 52 is mounted for horizontal swinging movement about a knife bearing surface 51 formed on the lever for engagement with the head 32 of the nipple 33. The other end of the lever 52 is bifurcated, as indicated at 58 in Figure 2, and straddles the valve stem 3| and is formed with rounded bearing surfaces 59 for rocking engagement with a washer 60 which is carried by the valve stem 3| and which is maintained against displacement thereon by means of a plurality of lock nuts 6|.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the pilot burner is directly supplied with fuel and maintains a constant pilot flame for igniting gas whenever it issues from the burner 1 as a result of the operation of the valve 12. This pilot heats the terminal member 48 and heat is thereby transmitted to the tube 41 by conduction, causing the tube 41 to elongate and draw the rod 50 inwardly through the tube 41. This movement of the rod 50 swings the lever 52 in a clockwise direction about its fulcrum 51, as viewed in Figure 3, thus maintaining the valve 21 open against the action of the leaf spring 29, and permitting uninterrupted passage of the fuel to the burner 1. If, however, the flame at the pilot burner 31 should become extinguished through any cause, the member 48 and tube 41 will cool, causing the tube 41 to contract and permit the lever 52 to swing in a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 3 to permit the valve member 21 to close under the influence of the leaf spring 29, interrupting the flow of fuel to the burner 1 regardless of the operation of the valve l2.

Fuel is thus prevented from escaping from the burner 1 so long as the pilot light is extinguished, but when the pilot light is ignited, the tube 41 will expand and open the valve member 21, restoring the supply of fuel to the burner 1, as hereinabove described.

It will be noted from an inspection of Figure 3 of the drawing, that the length of the lever arms of the lever 52 is such that the valve member- 21 is moved a relatively great extent in proportion to the movement of the rod 50, thus enabling a relatively small movement of the tube 41 to affect a relatively great movement of the valve member 21 and afford free passage of gas to the burner 1.

Furthermore, it will be appreciated that the rounded bearing surfaces 59 of the lever 52 may rock upon the washer 50 to compensate for the pivotal movement of the lever 52, and the position of the washer 60 may be adjusted by manipulation of the lock nuts 6|, thereby enabling cooperative relation between the lever 52, and valve 21 to be accurately adjusted. Likewise the lock nuts 54 may be manipulated to obtain accurate adjustment of the bearings 55 and 51 and thus accurately correlate the movements of the rod 50 and lever 52.

The tension exerted by the spring 29 upon the valve member 21 may be accurately regulated by manipulation of the adjusting screw 35. In this way the tension of the spring can accurately be adjusted so that it will hold the valve 21 tightly closed when it should be closed,

and prevent possibility of leakage, yet nothold the valve 21 so tightly closed as to offer undue resistance to the movement of the thermostatic elements operating to open the valve 21.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention herein disclosed accomplishes at least the principal object of the. invention, and further that uses and advantages other than those herein referred to are inherent in the construction, and that various changes and modifications may be made in said embodiment without departing from the spirit of the invention, and accordingly the embodiment herein disclosed is illustrative only, and the invention'is not limited thereto.

I claim:

1. A fuel control device for a burner having a fuel supply conduit, comprising: a housing interposed in said conduit; a valve in said housing mounted for opening and. closing movements; an elongated spring having an end portion bearing upon said valve and urging the same closed; means for anchoring said spring adjacent its opposite end including a hollow headed nipple threaded into said housing and having a lock nut thereon between which and the'head of said nipple the end of the spring is clamped; an operating member extending into said housing through said nipple; and means for transmitting movement of said operating member to effect opening movement of said valve.

2. A fuel control device for a burner having a fuel supply conduit, comprising: a housing interposed in said conduit; a valve in said housing mounted for opening and closing movements; an elongated springhaving an end portion bearing upon said valve and urging the same closed; means for anchoring said spring adjacent its opposite end including a hollow headed nipple threaded into said housing and having a lock nut thereon between which and the head of said nipple the end of the spring is clamped; an operating member extending into said housing through said nipple; and means for transmitting movement of said operating member to eifect opening movement of said valve, said transmitting means comprising a lever pivotally supported by said operating member, provided with a fulcrum portion engageable with the head of said nipple, and having its working end operatively connected to said valve.

3. A fuel control device for a burner having a fuel supply conduit, comprising: a housing interposed in said conduit; a valve in said housing mounted for opening and closing movements, and carrying an abutment thereon; an elongated spring having an end portion bearing upon said valve and urging the same closed; means for anchoring said spring adjacent its opposite Cir (and including a hollow headed nipple threaded into said housing and having a lock nut there- 'on between which and the head of said nipple the end of the spring is clamped; an operating member extending into said housing through said nipple; and means for transmitting movement of said operating member to efiect opening movement of said valve, said transmitting means comprising a lever pivotally supported by said operating member, provided with a fulcrum portion engageable with the head of said nipple, having its working end extending to a point adjacent to said valve, and provided at said working end with rounded engaging surfaces engageable with the abutment carried by said valve.

4. A device of the character described, comprising: a member having a fuel inlet and a fuel outlet and provided with a. valve seat affording communication between said inlet and said outlet; valve mechanism disposed outwardly of said member and comprising a valve cooperable with said seat and having a portion disposed outwardly of said member, an elongated spring having an end portion bearing upon said valve and urging the same to seating engagement with said seat, means for anchoring said spring adjacent its opposite end including a hollowheaded nipple threaded into said member and having a lock nut thereon between which and the head of said nipple the end of said spring is clamped, thermally responsive means having a portion secured to said member and provided with an operating member extending through said nipple, lever means connected at one point to said operating member, and at a spaced point to said valve portion; and a cover aflixed to said member and normally enclosing said valve mechanism, said cover being removable to provide ready access to said valve mechanism.

PAUL H. HAMILTON. 

